Death of the Tree Path by Timothy S. Currey

Their healer has died. Their forest is dying. They refused to leave … even when soldiers came to take their land.

Riekalt has been a grim man since the death of his wife, the village healer. She gave her life to save the village. He can hardly sleep. Is it her he keeps hearing at night?

When soldiers come from Gweidor to take their land, the villagers of Wolfshead Hill begin to know the end has come.

They claim to come in peace, and offer gold. But they come with a trail of corpses in their wake.

There is one desperate hope left to the village. Riekalt’s only son Laester begins to show glimmers of the powers that claimed his wife. If he cannot control or suppress the new magic … it might destroy him.

How can Riekalt hope to save his village, if it might mean the life of his son?

I read this for SPFBO 6. It is the third book I finished as part of the competition. It could possibly be a semi-finalist.

Death of the Tree Path is a low fantasy told in three perspectives. The actual fantasy elements are used more for coloring throughout most of the novel, only really coming to the forefront near the end. And even then, briefly. The book has a nice balance of being atmospheric with relatively simple prose. And that’s not a knock; the prose is still able to evoke imagery and emotions very well.

The plot itself, despite consisting of 3 intertwining subplots, is pretty straightforward. A father is dealing with the death of his wife while also dealing with the slow death of the forest around where he lives. He goes hunting one day, only to find the branches — even a deer — rotting away in an instant. His son meanwhile is grappling with finding his place, wanting to be just like his father but also wanting to discover more about his mother. And there’s a Commander, punished for disobeying orders, tasked with conquering the village the father and son live in.

Throughout the book, we see the tensions within each group, the villagers and the soldiers. Kyu-Sen, the Commander, believes in Mercy, Honor, and Strength. But she slowly experiences cognitive dissonance when questioned about her beliefs. If she cares about mercy, she’s asked, then what’s merciful about casting people out of their homes — even if they’re offered gold in return? Her character arc is very interesting.

I’d say this book is more focused on the three main characters and the balance of their inner troubles with the outward consequences they become a part of. Their are plenty of other, minor characters of course. Some are more fleshed out than others. Seeing the focus of the book, though, I think this is fine for the most part. I will say, however, that there were a few named characters who appeared in a few scenes that I felt could’ve been better fleshed out. I also felt that the antagonist in the soldiers’ group seemed a bit one-sided, compared to the other important characters. This is more of a minor issue, though.

And briefly, there’s something that happens at the end that I’m not sure how I feel about if I’m being honest. I can see why it happened, but I can’t help but wishing things would’ve gone slightly different.

Overall, Death of the Tree Path is a novel well worth reading. It’s perfect for someone looking for something simple yet still atmospheric. While I’m personally unsure about a certain element about the ending and wish a couple of the important non-POV characters were more rounded, these issues in the end didn’t hinder my overall enjoyment. I would definitely recommend at least giving this book a chance.